“Move your laptop.”

“No.”

“Jonathan. Move it right now.”

Jonathan shifted his feet on the armrest.

“No. Leave me alone.”

David muttered under his breath. Jonathan pulled the ball cap off of his face for a brief moment.

“What did you say?”

“Couch hog.”

“Oh. I thought you said something else.”

He resumed his nap.

David shrugged his shoulders and left the room with a laptop under his arm. He noticed that Jonathan looked a bit pale when he returned.

“You okay, Bro?”

A butterfly’s wing – shimmering in the light, black at this angle, blue at another – with orange and white spots embellishing each half. It’s the very definition of beauty, and it sits upon a fluffy brown abdomen adorned with six thin legs, huge kaleidoscope eyes, and two elegant antennae.

“In buying property, in building houses, in furnishing rooms, in forming plans, in changing dwellings, in educating children, it is wise and prudent to look forward and consider. Many would save themselves much sorrow and trouble if they would only remember—what does it cost?

Let me show you my garden, so you may understand why I love it as much as I do.
Here, on this ornate bench beneath the cascade of Rose vines, my heart first opened up to love. The hand that turned back the petals and revealed the heart was the hand that put this ring on my finger.
Here, under the boughs of these cherry blossoms, I learnt that this Love must die a young death.
'Twas walking between the rows of gardenias here that my broken heart was healed.

I sit here. I stand here. It is my lookout, my view. On this mountain edge it is the only place that remains the same... it is secure. And when life changes in difficult ways, I need something secure to grasp onto that will pull me through. And this is what my mountain edge does.

Again I'm confus'd, bewilder'd and torn;
I feel like a Sampson shaven and shorn.
Betrayed by my fears and wond'ring "What next?"
I'm taken, again, right back to this text;
"...My peace give I unto you," Jesus said,
"...Not as this world gives," His men Spirit-led.
They were radical and strange yet trusting,
Whereas I'm radic'lly strange, and doubting.
"...Faith like a mustard seed..." can move mountains;
Yet my shoulders carry the mountainous plains.
"My yoke is easy and my burden light,"

All the words never spoken
The notes never written
The dreams never shared
This is the song of the Lonely
Silence screaming its pain

All the tears never cried
The touches never felt
The songs never heard
This is the song of the Lonely
Silence screaming its pain

Have you ever looked at someone and suddenly realized what a treasure they are? And then you discover how much you love that treasure. Not because it's appearance is as garish as a jewel, but their personality shines as pure as gold. You love them the more you see them, yet deep inside you realize it is a treasure you will never hold as your own. But you can't stop hoping that someday, someone will have that priceless treasure to you, and tell you that it's yours forever.

I think I will marry
An artist or maybe
A photographer
One who sees the world
And the beauty in the chaos
One who is quiet
Because noise
Will only distract

I think I will marry
An artist or maybe
A photographer
Because a picture
Is worth a thousand words
And only a picture
Can teach my mind
To be still
And see the beauty
And love the chaos

I climbed further: the end was in sight. I reached the top of the peak; only to cry out in disappointment. There was yet another valley before my eyes. This was not the end. Night was falling, and I had no hope of making it to the plateau.
As the sand crumbled beneath my feet while giving way to the low lands of the valley I fell to my knees and cried out, and I heard my voice echo back from the darkness beyond.
"Why did You bring me here, only to let me end up in this bitter darkness? I cannot see; I cannot understand. What are You trying to teach me?"